Jeepney Press November - December 2022 / Marnie Chan

…by not thinking at all.

Imagine this: electrodes placed on your scalp to detect and record electrical impulses in your brain using an EEG [electroencephalograph]. A frequency is the number of times a wave repeats itself within a second.

Eyes closed, you remain still. Perhaps, you observe the rising and falling of your breath. Or simply, the darkness in front of your shut eyes. But wait, there are color hues, aren’t there? (Dang, you can see colors with your eyes wide shut!)

This was how the alpha brain wave frequency label came about. Salud to the volunteer meditator who sat as a guinea. Hence, to be in alpha is to simply be calm and relaxed. You are between 8 and 12 hertz (or Hz, or cycles per second). Creative people amass a wealth of alpha.

Beta brain wave was the next to be recorded by science. You - consciously doing the mundane to the most lofty, like reading this piece - are in beta brain wave freq. You are between 12.5 and 30 Hz.

So, you tried to continue your silent seated getaway, known as “me time” by experienced mindful meditators to the point that your body is already asleep (but your mind is awake). This is theta brain wave realm. Your neurons are slowly swirling in 3 to 8 Hz, according to empirical evidence.

Then usually, you fall into a deep dreamless sleep. Welcome to delta. Low and slow. 0.5 to 3 Hz.

A lot of interest is now being poured into gamma brain waves (almost akin to Bruce Banner’s gamma radiation rays). Why, you ask. They are the fastest brain waves in your brain. They measure above 35 Hz and can spike as high as 100 Hz. This is your brain firing in all cylinders. Full steam ahead! You are intensely focused. You have achieved peak concentration.

Briefly, I can name three ways for your brain to produce more gamma waves: 1] Mindfulness meditation (via the alpha wave route); 2] Acupuncture (shen ting and ben shen [bilateral]): 3] Eat pistachios (old folks almost got it right when they suggested peanuts).

By Marnie Chan #thehealingpowerofacupuncture